“Flamin’ Hot” tells the true(ish) story of Richard Montañez, a janitor for a Frito Lay factory who channeled his Mexican-American heritage to turn a snack into a global pop culture sensation and catapult him within the company to become the Vice President of Multicultural Sales & Community Promotions for PepsiCo. So right off the bat, it’s probably best to take this story with a grain of salt. I mean, a quick google search will bring up an L.A. Times article disputing the legitimacy of the events as told by Richard. That being said, knowing this beforehand, doesn’t change my overall feelings for this film.
Directed by Eva Longoria, “Flamin’ Hot” is simply an entertaining, inspirational feel-good story. It’s told with a level of self-awareness and snark that gives it a lot of charm and made me crack a smile on more than a few occasions during the film. Jesse Garcia plays Montañez and, because it’s Montañez telling the story, he also provides the narration for the film and has such a fantastic delivery.
There are scenes that channel the Michael Peña/Ant-Man storytelling bits and while they’re not as fast-paced in “Flamin’ Hot”, they’re still pretty hilariously-executed and made me laugh every time. But I think the most successful factor of this show (aside from a great rags-to-riches story) is the on-screen chemistry among the cast.
Every person in this film with whom Garcia interacts has a unique rapport with his character. And he interacts with a pretty stacked supporting cast, including Tony Shalhoub, Annie Gonzalez and Dennis Haysbert. While there is question as to whether or not the accounts of the film, “Flamin’ Hot”, is actually a true story, there’s little doubt the film will leave you truly motivated.
